Nero CD Speed v4.51 - DVD-ROM:
A little editorial note here. Like a CD-ROM, you will get different benchmark results depending on what kind of discs you are using. You are probably going to get varying results from a full data disc to a single layer movie disc. You're also going to get different results for single and dual layer discs.
The CD Speed website recommends using a single layer DVD-ROM disc with a capacity of at least 4GB. If you use a dual layer disc you probably won't get the best results because most DVD-ROM drives slow down to read them. Some even slow down to read single layer DVD-Video discs. To make a long story short, I am using a 4.37GB single layer, single sided disc for this test.
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.01x 6.65x 16.11x |
12.31x 6.80x 16.46x |
12.11x 6.45x 16.20x |
11.94x 6.57x 15.97x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
117ms 140ms 218ms |
103ms 120ms 187ms |
115ms 135ms 213ms |
136ms 148ms 226ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
4% 8% 15% 48% |
6% 11% 22% 42% |
9% 9% 20% 96% |
15% 15% 28% 52% |
The DRW-1608P3S performed pretty well when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.65x and reached a maximum transfer speed of about 16.11x.
Nero CD Speed v4.51 - DVD-R and DVD-RW:
First, we'll look at the drive's DVD-R and DVD-RW reading performance. For this I made copies of our DVD-ROM test disc using some general use 4x DVD-R and 2x DVD-RW media from Verbatim and then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. For the DVD-RAM tests, media from Maxell was used. The results are below.
Verbatim DVD-R
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.38x 5.20x 12.51x |
12.35x 6.83x 16.52x |
9.20x 5.04x 12.29x |
11.97x 6.60x 16.01x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
116ms 13ms 220ms |
108ms 125ms 176ms |
125ms 136ms 229ms |
135ms 156ms 248ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 9% 17% 56% |
6% 11% 22% 42% |
5% 8% 25% n/a |
16% 17% 31% 62% |
Verbatim DVD-RW
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.26x 3.45x 8.37x |
10.03x 5.55x 13.40x |
9.20x 5.05x 12.30x |
9.81x 5.40x 13.12x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
115ms 138ms 225ms |
128ms 150ms 217ms |
110ms 120ms 202ms |
124ms 154ms 251ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 9% 19% 39% |
6% 11% 22% 57% |
5% 9% 27% n/a |
9% 15% 28% 50% |
ASUS's new drive had no problems reading DVD-R and DVD-RW media. In our tests, it was able to read DVD-R media at a respectable 12.5x, but reached a maximum transfer speed of only 8.3x when reading DVD-RW discs.
Verbatim DVD-R DL
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
5.70x 3.18x 7.60x |
9.27x 5.16x 12.36x |
6.05x 3.37x 8.06x |
5.47x 3.04x 7.29x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
115ms 142ms 224ms |
132ms 156ms 220ms |
124ms 130ms 221ms |
211ms 221ms 316ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
4% 8% n/a |
6% 12% 43% |
6% 9% n/a |
8% 13% n/a |
The DRW-1608P3S wasn't as fast when reading Verbatim's 4x DVD-R DL media. As you can see, the drive started reading at 3.18x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 7.60x.
Maxell 5x DVD-RAM
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
4.98x 4.96x 5.01x |
10.26x 5.90x 12.07x |
4.64x 2.99x 5.00x |
4.99x 4.94x 5.01x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
180ms 2ms 3ms |
199ms 173ms 197ms |
125ms 137ms 274ms |
207ms 195ms 311ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
35% 56% 53% |
7% 12% 21% |
6% 14% 25% |
7% 13% 24% |
ASUS's new drive has a maximum transfer speed of 5x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot, you can see that it reads at this speed from start to finish. For whatever reason, the 1/3 and full seek times were much lower than they should have been and the CPU usage was abnormally high.
Nero CD Speed v4.51 - DVD+R and DVD+RW:
Next we'll look at the drive's DVD+R and DVD+RW reading performance. For this I made a copy of our DVD-ROM test disc using some 4x DVD+R and 2.4x DVD+RW media from Verbatim. I then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.
Verbatim DVD+R
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.37x 5.20x 12.54x |
12.33x 6.80x 16.50x |
9.17x 5.09x 12.27x |
11.96x 6.60x 16.00x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
119ms 139ms 220ms |
107ms 127ms 185ms |
101ms 109ms 185ms |
133ms 154ms 250ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 8% 16% 64% |
6% 12% 22% 42% |
10% 7% 25% n/a% |
16% 17% 34% 65% |
Verbatim DVD+RW
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.26x 3.45x 8.37x |
10.03x 5.54x 13.39x |
9.22x 5.11x 12.33x |
9.81x 5.40x 13.12x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
115ms 131ms 216ms |
128ms 149ms 215ms |
106ms 122ms 195ms |
128ms 160ms 258ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 8% 18% 38% |
6% 12% 22% 51% |
8% 10% 29% n/a |
11% 21% 34% 64% |
The DRW-1608P3S's performance with DVD+R and DVD+RW media was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R and DVD-RW media. The drive read DVD+R discs at 12.5x and DVD+RW media at 8.3x.
Verbatim DVD+R DL
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
5.70x 3.18x 7.61x |
9.27x 5.16x 12.38x |
6.05x 3.37x 8.07x |
5.47x 3.04x 7.30x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
126ms 132ms 218ms |
130ms 151ms 218ms |
111ms 124ms 187ms |
148ms 185ms 294ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
4% 8% n/a |
6% 11% 30% |
6% 8% n/a |
7% 12% n/a |
Reading Verbatim's double layer DVD+R media wasn't a problem for the DRW-1608P3S either. While not nearly as fast as the drive from LG, it reached a maximum transfer speed of 7.61x.
Nero CD Speed v4.51 - DVD-Video:
For these tests I am using the US version of Transformers: The Movie on DVD. The disc is over 4GB and single sided.
| ASUS DRW-1608P3S |
LG GSA-H10N |
Lite-On SHM-165H6S |
NEC ND-4550A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
3.89x 2.14x 5.02x |
3.65x 2.02x 4.88x |
11.99x 6.62x 16.04x |
11.83x 6.49x 15.82x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
107ms 123ms 205ms |
121ms 147ms 219ms |
114ms 122ms 197ms |
135ms 147ms 228ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 8% 20% 57% |
6% 11% 21% n/a |
7% 10% 20% 97% |
15% 15% 28% 51% |
The DRW-1608P3S didn't do as well as some of the other drives when reading DVD videos. In our tests, it reached a maximum speed of only 5x when reading both single and dual layer discs. This is pretty slow considering there are drives out there that can reach speeds as high as 16x.
To see how well the DRW-1608P3S worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace using WinDVD 4 and PowerDVD 5. The drive had no problems playing back these movies with either program and was fairly quiet.
